Remaining Bali nine given life sentences

The last of the Bali nine heard their fates today and once again the court showed no leniency.

Transcript

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TONY JONES: The last of the Bali nine heard their fates today and, once again, the court showed no leniency. Known as the 'Melasti Three', they were arrested in a Kuta hotel with a third of a kilo of heroin. The court found they were would-be mules awaiting a further shipment of the drug and sentenced all three to life imprisonment. From Denpasar, Geoff Thompson reports.

GEOFF THOMPSON: The last three of the Bali nine were bustled into Denpasar's District Court complex this morning. A newly bald Matthew Norman briefly broke free from the pack - a fleeting moment of freedom on the way to the door of his cell. There, the 19-year-old was joined by 20-year-old Si Yi Chen and Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, with whom he was seized in a hotel room along with 334 grams of heroin in a suitcase. In court, it was Matthew Norman's turn to join his co-accused. Police believe that he and the 23-year-old Tahn Nguyen had made drug runs through Bali before, while Si Yi Chen was a first-timer. All have maintained they were only here on holidays. But the judges didn't believe them, saying that they were part of a secretive and precisely organised international drug smuggling conspiracy. The court regarded the three as drug mules who never got on a plane. In police evidence, 20-year-old Scott Rush, who was sentenced to life on Monday, accused Nguyen of being a financier and recruiter for the operation. Police say it was Nguyen who, in Brisbane, persuaded Rush and Michael Cjugaz to travel to Bali. Judge Istinigsih Rahayu said the heroin in the Melasti hotel room matched that carried by the four mules arrested at the airport. All three accepted their life sentences with quiet resignation. Their lawyer wants to appeal.

MOHAMAD RIFAN, LAWYER: It's not really fair trial at this time. So we hope the High Court or Supreme Court will review or they will make the correction for this decision.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Matthew Norman's mother, Robyn, thanked the Indonesian Government for looking after her son, and said that at least life is better than death.

GEOFF THOMPSON: The 'Melasti Three' were whisked straight out of court and on their way to joining the Bali Nine's other lifers in jail. The Melasti Three confront the same dilemma faced by the four convicted drug mules in this case. And that is, that an appeal to a higher court may not necessarily result in a lesser sentence. Their other option is to accept the life term and hope that good behaviour in prison will one day see it reduced. Geoff Thompson, Lateline.